Cops Kill Handicapped Man in a Case of Mistaken Identity

A state trooper in Arkansas (the 'Yes, we're a state!' state ) shot and killed a mentally handicapped man who was standing on the shoulder of the
road, rocking back and forth with his hands at his waist; blew him away with a shotgun because he wouldn't/couldn't follow their orders. The cop's
been relieved of duty pending an investigation.

Well what do you expect? The Supreme COurt made it illegal to execute these people, now there is nothing to deter them from rising up and out
smarting us!(Not an exact quote, but from Jon Stewart of the Daily Show)

Poor man, well, who knows, my preacher says people with disabilities are cured in heaven, so maybe that man is in a better place now, although I
wouldn't consider that. Maybe even with his disability he loved his family, his friends, that even being cured isn't enough to counter the lost of
his family and friends. Isn't Arkansas where Bill Clinton came from?

If police officers shot somebody every time they didn't 'follow orders'...

Surely there was some sort of lesser recourse that could have been taken. It should have been fairly obvious the man was not in his right mind; after
all, it doesn't take long to tell if a person is severely mentally handicapped or not, it shows in the way they act and talk. If he was being
violent (which it sounds like he was not, but they don't say either way) then they would have been justified in restraining or maybe even cuffing
him, but for crying out loud, the guy was lying down on his back when he was shot. He was NOT a threat to anybody in that position.

Makes me wonder if the cop was mentally retarded... I really hope that cop gets jail time for manslaughter...

Nobody seems to care about these stories, but it sure seems like they're increasing by leaps and bounds. Maybe it's just my imagination; does
anyone else share my perception?

That's because crap like this is in the news so often that people have just started to shut it out. I think a lot of people don't really care
anymore, unless it happens to someone they know.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Please help me. What does this have to do with Education or Media? Obviously, this was a tragic accident. Trying to make something bigger out of it
is unnecessary and insensitive.

Without a doubt this is definitely a tragic incident, but I fail to see how it would/could be seen as a tragic accident. How does
refusing to show both hands, while lying on one's back, warrant lethal force? A tazer maybe, but, based on the limited information available it
doesn't seem that the officer had justifiable cause to use deadly force.

Even if this wasn't a case of mistaken identity, even if the man in question was fugitive Adam Leadford; How does refusal to cooperate and/or show
both hands, while lying on your back, justify the officer's actions?

It would be interesting to see the video footage from the dash cam, if the trooper's car was so equipped, as Arkansas did receive a grant from the
Justice Dept. for 30 or so in 2002.

The Arkansas State Police will not say whether Hamley was armed, confirmation of which would provide possible justification for the use of such force.
If he was in possesion of a weapon, one would think they would be touting that fact as justification for the actions taken. By refusing to make that
confirmation publicly, they are casting doubt on the actions of their own.

I had two sources saying two different things. The second link is now dead, but it claimed he was rocking back and forth on the shoulder after being
detained, and was shot like that for refusing to raise his hands. The other article claims he was lying on his back.

I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure.

I posted both for obvious reasons, but now one of them is dead, unfortunately. I'm gonna go try to find some corroboration.

Edit: the media is unanimously reporting that the suspect was lying on his back with his hands on his stomach. There's footage of the event, but
it's not going to be released until the internal investigation wraps up. The family of the victim is pissed off, but they're not talking to the
media.

The cops are stonewalling, as usual. I'll post more information as I become aware of it.

I live in Northwest Arkansas and the police are shooting people left and right around here. They caught up with Leadford later that day and shot him
too. Then they shot a grandma with a butcher knife and today they shot a guy with an axe. shoot first ask questions later seems to be the new strategy
for the police in these parts.

I doubt the video will ever be released. Even our present governor, Mike Huckabee, admits that Arkansas is a third world country. Or more aptly he
called it a Banana republic. The corruption is to the very core and the police departments are more like better equipped gangs then protectors of the
public.

I love this state, but there is a reason it ranks dead last in everything from education to public safety.

The family of the victim is pissed off, but they're not talking to the media.

I smell lawuit!

mrwupy, I don't mean to offend, but Arkansas seems like a place to drive around - waaay around! It reminds me of a song "limpin down the shoulder on
the rim" "he's an undercover agent for the FBI"...I can't remember the title.

The family of the victim is pissed off, but they're not talking to the media.

I smell lawuit!

Oh yea, When the news channel spoke with the family the first thing out of the womans mouth was, "Our lawyer said...."

From what i've heard of the story the guy had wondered off and was reported missing that morning. That same morning he was shot and killed by a state
trooper. It was 1:30 that night before the family was finally notified.

The police were probably trying to cover their bums.

This is just one incident, you would not believe the coverup that has been going on for 15 years now over the death of Janey Ward. She was 16 when she
died. The state medical examiner ruled it an accident even though she had bruising, a broken nose and broken neck. After a second autopsy it was ruled
as an unexplained death. Finally an out of state medical examiner looked at her at NO COST and ruled it a homicide. The state has fought tooth and
nail to keep this from being investigated. Even our own governor won't touch it.

The Janey Ward murder is an honest to god conspiracy by the state to cover up the murder of a teenage girl.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Uhm, yeah, Slick Willy hailed from Arkansas, though I'm not sure what that has to do with anything.

Nobody seems to care about these stories, but it sure seems like they're increasing by leaps and bounds. Maybe it's just my imagination; does
anyone else share my perception?

It's definately NOT your imagination. I share your perception, actually, it's not just a perception, but a very sad and frightening truth that we
seem to be living with just about every day. Where I live, there would be no local news, if it were not for the daily (at least once) "high speed"
chase, where a cop chases someone who I guess he doesn't like the way they look or something. No, actually I think they have ususlly committed some
heinous crime like having an expired tag, or perhaps a tail light out. These daily chases ocasionally come out without too many injuries, but more
often than not, either the "chasee" (usually) is finally chased into another car and crashes, often fatal for at least one or more of either the
person/people being chased, or worse, the innocent people in the car that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the case that you wrote of when starting this thread, I think it was a rarity that the cop is suspended. Almost always here, they get a paid
vacation after doing something like that (Paid Administrative Leave).

However, turn the situation around, such as a case that happened a couple of months ago here: A guy stole a motorcycle, and a cop went off chasing
him. Granted, the guy shouldn't have stolen the motorcycle, but it AFAIK is not a capital offense. Unless of course, which is what happened - the
cop chasing him, lost control of his own vehicle, rolled it (maybe even hit another car, I'm not quite sure on that part) and died in the accident
that he himself caused.

Well, the motorcycly thief got no paid anything. Not that he should have, but he should not now be facing the death penalty (whih he is) for the
MURDER of a police officer, whom he LED on a high speed chase.

Yes, I can't agree with you more that police killing civilians in becoming more and more comonplace every day. And what can we do about it? I wish
I knew. Talk about a Police State. They are really taking it to heart, and being enabled to act in such an appalling fasion by their bosses, who
almost always say that the officer was perfectly justified by killing that person. They kill, they suffer no consequences, they start liking to kill.
- I guess. And who's going to stop them. Can't exactly call the police to report a murder, and the victim won't be of much help to him/herself if
they are still alive enough to call 911 for help.

I am just........................no words currently exist that I can write here to define just how that makes me feel. The whole thing. They are
taking over, we are helpless. What happens when the 2nd ammendment is repealled?

How was this an accident? They said shot him because he didn't do as he was ordered. Last I heard the cops were only allowed to shoot you when
they're scared of you. So now the big bad police are terrified of old ladies, puppies and retarded people. What a bunch of losers...

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